“To suggest that someone acting as a contentious objector to a law that has divided this country would be termed as, ‘betrayed,’ the justice department. That is deeply, deeply offensive, first of all, secondly, it is frightening that the Trump administration actually views dissent that way,” Scarborough said on Tuesday’s edition of “Morning Joe.”

Earlier in the show, Scarborough called the use of the term betrayed “what an autocrat would use.”

“The acting Attorney General, Sally Yates has betrayed the Department of Justice by refusing to enforce a legal order designed to protect the citizens of the United States,” the White House said in a statement.

The announcement that Yates had been “relieved of her duties,” follows Yates’ letter to Justice Department lawyers on Monday saying that she will not defend the announcement in court.

“My responsibility is to ensure that the position of the Department of Justice is not only legally defensible, but is informed by our best view of what the law is after consideration of all the facts,” Yates wrote in her letter on Monday.

“At present, I am not convinced that the defense of the executive order is consistent with these responsibilities, nor am I convinced that the executive order is lawful,” she wrote.

2016 was a wild year for cable news networks, so where did viewers go when they wanted coverage of everything from celebrity deaths to the presidential election? Find out here with the Top 23 shows ranked by rating.

TheWrap

23. “CNN Tonight with Don Lemon”

Lemon’s primetime show averaged 924,000 viewers and is a unique combination of straight newscast and opinion programming. CNN essentially allows Lemon to do what he thinks will benefit viewers on a nightly basis, which was evident when he recently choked up remembering news legend Gwen Ifill.

Cooper had CNN’s most-watched program of 2016, with 1.14 million viewers. While Cooper is a household name and widely recognized, many will find it odd that he finished behind so many cable news competitors.

This one is complicated, as “Real Story with Gretchen Carlson” occupied this spot until she filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against former Fox News CEO Roger Ailes, who eventually stepped down in disgrace. Carlson’s old show combined with a variety of replacements averaged 1.35 million viewers.

Bill O’Reilly is so popular that the late-night repeat of his primetime show averaged more viewers than most competitors pick up on a good night, with 1.39 million viewers tuning into the second run of “Factor.”

2016 was a wild year for cable news networks, so where did viewers go when they wanted coverage of everything from celebrity deaths to the presidential election? Find out here with the Top 23 shows ranked by rating.